Lock for doors



April 1953 R. ROBERTSON 2,634,147

LOCK FOR nooas Filed Aug. 51, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet l April 7,1953

R. ROBERTSON LOOK FOR DOORS Filed Aug. 31, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 April 7, 1953 R. ROBERTSON 2,634,147

' LOCK FOR DOORS Filed Aug. 31', 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 fig/0. g-

Zl E inventor tidrney Patented Apr. 7, 1953 2,634,147 LOOK FOR BOOKS Robert Robertson, Birmingham, England, as-

signor to Hallam, Sleigh & Cheston Limited, Birmingham, England, a companyof Great Britain Application August 1, 1951, Serial No. 244,519

In Great Britain September 25, 1950 This invention relates to locksfor the doors of vehicles, particularly motor vehicles, such locks being of that kind which, comprise a latch element preferably in theform of an angularlymovable forked or other arm, carried by a lock casing adapted to be fixed, for example, to the door, such as to the face of the door edge, and a striker adapted to be secured, such as by an attachment plate, to an opposed part, such as to a vehicle body, the said arm and the striker cooperating to holdthe door closed.

One of the objects'of the present invention is to provide a door lock of the above kind of an improved and sturdy construction, wherein the number of moving parts are reduced to a minimum, so thatthe lock is not liable to get out of order and maybe cheaply manufactured.

A further object is-to produce a lock mechanism wherein the presence of an exposed'latch element disposedoutside the lock casing is dispensed with. Where, in looks of'the kind referred to, a pivoted latch is mounted outside the lock casing for engagement by the striker, it is liable to be inadvertently turned into a door locking position when the door is open, and the subsequent slamming of the door is then liable to break or damage the lock mechanism. Thisis avoided by the present lock construction.

A further objectis to provide simple and compact means for preventing a hinged door to which the lock is fitted frommoving-, when closed, either upwardsor downwards in the plane of the hinge axis, whilst a still further object is to provide simple and effective means for preventing movement of the door in the direction-of the length of the vehicle, in the case of a hinged vehicle door; or in thecase of a sliding door, in a direction transverse to the door. 1 l

According to the invention, a door lock comprises an angularly-movable' or pivoted latch element disposed within a casing, or behind a cover plate, so that it is partly concealed when in use, the said latch element being adapted to be engaged by a striker enteringan aperture in the casing or cover plate sothat'the latch is moved by the striker into a door retaining position during the closing ofthe door; .in combination with a locking device for holding the latch element in a door retainingpOSitiOn, and means for operating the lockingfj'device, to release the latch element to cause or permit ofthe openingof the ,e t H Also, according to the invention, a door lock comprises an angularly movable or pivoted latch eleme t d s s rum a a behind a 3 Claims. (01. 292- 216) cover plate, and adapted to be engagedby a striker'entering an aperture in the casing or cover plate, so that the latch is moved by the striker into a door-retaining position during the closing of the door: in combination with means for preventing the door, when closed, from moving upwardsor downwards in its own plane, such means consisting of a wedge or abutment opposed to the latch element and disposed within the lock casing, or behind the cover plate, so

that the striker, or a part carried thereby, lies or extends between therlatch element and the said wedge or abutment when the door is closed.

Figure l of the accompanying drawings represents a front viewof a door lock constructed according to the present invention, and shown fitted to the edge of a vehicle door (indicated by broken lines), the latch being in its door release position and the striker being shown about to enter the lock casing to actuate the latch.

Figure 2 is a view of the lock mechanism, the cover of the lock casing being removed and the latch being in the position shown in Figure 1. Figure- 3 shows the positions of the lock parts after the striker ha'sentered the lock casing to move the latchint'o its safety-catch position.

Figure 4 shows the position of the lock parts latter the striker has moved the latch into its door-retaining position. l 1

Figure 5 represents aisectionthrough the lock on theline V-V, Figure 4. t l

Figure 6 is a viewshowingthe edge of the lock casing in'elevatiom L Figure '7 is a section onthe line VII--VII,'Figure 6. t

Figure 8 represents a sectional view through part of the lock upona largerscale, showing the undercut part of the latch and the cross-sectional shapes of the striker and wedge member. Figure 9 is' a perspective view of the striker. Figure '10 is an end view ofthe same. i

Figure-11 illustrates amodified form of the invention. r

Figure 12 shows a further-modification. Referring to- Figures 1 to 10 of the drawings, the improved lock is provided with 'a latch eleinent l which, instead ofbeing fullyyexposed, is pivotally mounted within ashallow box-like casing 2,"'where it is protected and almost entire- 7 tended to be let into the face of the outer edge of a vehicle door 3 (indicated by broken lines in Figure I) so as to co-operate -with-a striker 4 on an opposed face ofa' fixed door pillar or body part 5 Figure olf during the closing of the'door,

3 means being provided for locking the latch element I in a door retaining position, and for actuating the locking means to release the door. The said latch element I is carried by a short transverse spindle 6 which projects from opposite sides of the latch and forms a pivot about which it may turn, the one end of the spindle 6 engaging a bearing hole in the front wall 2 of the casing, and its other end engaging a bearing hole in a rear wall 2 of the casing. The top and bottom end walls of the latch casing are formed integral with the rear wall 2 and have attachment flanges I which lie Jbeneath end extensions of the front wall 2 the said end extensions and attachment flanges being secured together and to the wall of the door edge by screws or bolts 8. The latch I is disposed towards the lower end of the casing 2, and its lower portion is of a forked formation, being formed in its lower edge with a deep notch or recess 9 disposed between a pair of side-portions or arms I' "having rounded ends, the recess 9 being adapted to receive the striker during the closing or the door so that the latch element is turned angularly into a door-retaining position. The said latch-element I is provided at its upper end with a short integral arm ll and this arm I is adapted to be engaged by a locking slide "II which is arranged to hold the latch I in one or other of three different positions. For this purpose, one edge of the slide II, that is an edge opposedto the arm III of the latch, is of a stepped formation, as shown, providing three abutments I2, I3 and I4. The arrangement is such that when the arm ID of the latch element engages the lowermost abutment I2 the said latch element is held in its door releasing position shown in Figure 2, whilst when the arm I0 engages the top abutment I4, as shown in Figure 4, the latch element I is held in a door-retaining position. When, on the other *hand,'the-arm I0 engages the intermediate abutment I3, as illustrated in'Fig- 'ure 3,'the latch is held ina safety-catch position.

The slide II has itsone edge bearing against a side edge 2of the casing, which forms a guide, the 'lower portion ofthe slide lying more or less between the saiol side edge of the casingand the arm of the latch I, according to the, position of the latter. The latch -'l"is acted upon by a coiled tension spring I5 which tends to turn it into its d'oor releasing position, this spring being anchored at its one end to the ,latch element and at its other end to an arm I6-disposed at the top of the casing and pivoted between the "front {I and rear walls of the latter, the spring tending to'move the arm I6 angularly downwards.

To enable the slide II to be readily actuated,

either from the outside or from the inside of the vehicle, there is fitted inside the'lock casingZ, over the one end of the latch spindle fi, a rotary actuating plate H (see Figure 7) having three laterally-bent and peripherally-spaced arms I8,

I9 is adapted to be operated. from the outside of 22 cut in the rearwall of the casingz. fThe-a'rm the door by a push-button (not shown), and the other arm 20 is adapted to be actuated by suitable means from the inside of the vehicle. It may, for example, be engaged by the one end of a bell-crank lever 23 pivotally mounted at 24 on a side wing 25 carried by the rear wall of the k casing, the other end of the bell-crank being connected for example, by a bar or rod 25, to an singularly-movable arm (not shown) operated by a suitably disposed handle inside the vehicle.

There is provided within the lock casing, immediately below but spaced from, the forked lower end-of the-latchelement I, and in the same plane as the latter, :a sliding wedge element 28. The latter is slidable transversely of the lock casing against the action of a coiled compression spring 29 "also disposed within the casing, and the wedge is :guided between the front and rear walls of the Iock casing by a rod 30 passing through the wedge and through opposite-edge walls of thesaid casing, one of the edge walls serving as a stop for the wedge. The front wall 2* of the casing and part of the side edge 'wall integral therewith are cut away to provide an aperture 3i (see Figure l) to expose the lower portion of the latch I andalso the upper portion of the wedge 28, the-cut-away portion enabling the striker to enter the casing and engage and operate the latch element during the closing of the door. p

The striker t, which is on the fixed pillar or vehicle body, is of asubsta nti ally Lshape-in front elevation asshown in Figure ;9, being carried by, and projecting out from the lower portionof an attachment plate 27, with which it is an integral part. The said'striker thus comprises a projection 32 in the form ofa short upstanding arm with arounded enlarged upper edge portion, the saidprojection 32 being at the leading end of the striker, and a longer arm or flange 33 slightly inclined to the horizontal in the direction of its length, the said arm extending away from the upwardly extendi-ng projection 32 along the lower edge of the attachment plate 21. During the closing of the door the pivoted latch I engages, and is turned by, the upstanding projection 32, and, as the door closes, the longerarm or flange 33 engages the upper surface-of thewedge 28 which is forced back againstits spring =29. V

When the :door is open the arm it of the latch engages the lowermost abutment I2 of the slide II the slide beingthenin-its full-yraised position. Asthe'door closes the projection32 of the striker engages one of the arms I of the forkand turns the latch angularly into the door retaining position shown in Figure t, so that the arm Ill of the latch element engages the-topabutmentM of the slide, the latter which is moved automatically downwards by -the spring- I 5 and arm I 6, pos'itively holding the latch I inthisposition, withthe door held closed. 'Should the door'be not fully closed the arm In of the latch engages'theinter'm'ediate abutment I3, sojthat the latchfisth'us held-in its safety-catch position, the slidefi' l I being prevented from moving downwards to its fullest extent. f To open the door, therotary actuating plate TI is turned, either'by the outsidepuis'h biitto'm or by the inside handle, "so that "the slide' Il is 'hioved up by the arm 18 of the sa'id'plate against the action of the tension spring fI5. "The latch 'is thus released-and is' turried'aii'gularly by the spring I5 until the arm I'll of the latch engages the-bottom abutment I2 of the slide, the angular movement of the-latch being such as to given initial opening movement ite f't'he "d'oo'r.

' 32 of the striker; I

5. engages, and movesov r, the top face of thewedge 28 'whosetop'face is disposed at a slight angle to the horizontal, the wedge being moved back slightly during-this process against the action of its spring 29. The arrangement is such that when the door is closed it is eifectivelyprevented by the wedge 28 from moving upwards in the plane in the'opposite direction, that is downwards, by

the co-operation of the latch l with the projection In order to prevent the door from moving away from the pillaror part which carries the striker 4, in its own planeinthe direction of the length of the vehicle, the flange 33flof the L-shaped strikeris downwardly inclined in] a transverse direction as shownin, Figure 10,- sothat its underside lies at an acute angle to the door pillar to which the device is fitted,- the outer longitudinal edge of thefiange 33 being lower than its inner longitudinal edge. To co-operate with the said flange 33 the top surface 28 of the spring-pressed wedge member 28 is similarly inclined in a transverse direction, as shown in Figure 8, its inner longitudinal edge being lower than its outer longi tudinal edge. Also, the rounded top edge of the upwardly-extending projection 32 of the striker is inclined or undercut, so that the leading end of the striker :is of a dovetail or wedge shape, being narrower where it joins the attachment plate 21. To co-operate with this inclined 'or undercut end, of, the projection 32,.0fthe striker the bend or crotch of the notch 9 between the armsl 'of the pivoted latch is likewise inclined or undercutat l (Figure 8) although the opposed surfaces of the latch arms l may be parallel, the inner end of the notch 9 being larger at the rear side of the latch 1 than at the front side of the latter.

As the door closes the upstanding projection 32 of the striker first engages and turns the latch element I, and interlocks therewith owing to the co-operatinginclined or undercut surfaces, whilst the longer arm or flange 33 of the striker, owing to its transverse inclination interlocks with the inclined top surface of the wedge 28. This double interlocking action positively and effectively prevents the door from moving away from the door pillar in the direction of the length of the vehicle.

In addition to the tension spring IS a twoarmed wire torsion spring 34 is mounted on a pin 35 in the upper part of the lock casing 2, the pin 35 engaging a loop at the junction of the twoarms, and the spring being retained. in place on the pin by the arm 16 which engages the upper end of the slide l l. One of the arms of this torsion spring 34 bears on the slide-engaging arm [6 so that it exerts a certain amount of downward pressure on the latter, whilst the other arm of the torsion spring 34 engages the arm [9 of the rotary actuating plate 11 and keeps the two projecting plate arms I9 and 20 normally pressed up against the edges of the apertures in the casing, so that the press-button and inside handle remain undisturbed during the closing of the door.

Should the tension spring I break the torsion spring 34 alone will, in fact, enable the lock to function since it exerts a downward pressure on the slide H; or the mechanism will function,

6. striker being arranged to' correspond: Also; by varying the position of the'attachment flanges, the lock casing may be fixed to the door edge, to lie inside or outside the door, that is either so that its front wall lies'substantially flush with the outer surface of the door edge, as shown, or so thatthe lock projects out from the door edge.

If desired, only theflange'33- of the striker 4 and the co-operating surface of" the wedge 28 may be inclined or undercut, as shown in Figure 11 of the drawings, the crotch of the forked end of the latch having its surface at rightangles to the sides of the latch- Also, the part 32 which engages the latch element and the fiange or part 33 for engaging the wedge 28 may beseparateorspacedapart, ifrequired. The striker may carry any other-suitably shaped or undercut part for co-operatingwith a suitable part of the lock for positively preventing movement of the door away from' the door pillar, in its own plane, inlthe longitudinal direction of the vehicle. if r a In the case of a sliding door, the lock, with the pivoted latch element, would be mounted onla side face of the door,. such as upon itsinner side, to co-operate with a striker on the corresponding side of the fixed part or pillar. The construction of the parts would be the same as above described, but the co-operating undercut or inclined parts of the'striker and latch element and/o1" wedge member womam this case, prevent movement of the door in a lateral direction.

In the modified construction illustrated in Figure 12, there is no wedge within the lock casing 2 and the wire torsion spring is omitted. The slide II, in this case, houses aplungertfi acted upon by a spring 3lythe plunger'36 acting on the arm N3 of the rotary member 11 so that the other arms l9 and 20 of the latter are normally maintained against the edges of the apertures 2| and 22 in the casing, the plunger moving into its housing in the slide ll during the operation of the latter to release-the latch. In this construction a wedge may be provided on the door pillar adapted, if desired, to engage the top edge of the lock casing, when the door is closed.

I claim:

1. A door lock comprising a casing having an apertured edge and an opposite closed edge with an inner fixed surface, a spring tensioned pivoted latch element, said latch element consisting of forked arms disposed adjacent the aperture of said apertured edge and a diametrically opposed single arm spaced from said inner fixed surface, a spring tensioned slide member bearing against said inner'surface of the closed edge of the casing, a plurality of abutments on said slide member on the side opposite to the bearing surface and adapted to engage said single arm, said abutments being arranged in stepped relation ship, the topmost abutment being spaced a greater distance and the middle and lower abutments of progressively lesser distance from the bearing surface of the slide member to hold said latch in successively latched positions, and a spring tensioned pivoted arm bearing against the upper portion of the slide member, and biasing the slide member downwardly between the inner fixed surface and the single arm.

2. A door lock comprising-a casing having an apertured edge and an opposite closed edge with an inner fixed surface, a spring tensioned pivoted latch element, said latch element consisting of forked arms disposed adjacent the aperture of said apertured edge and a diametrically opposed single arm spaced from said inner fixed surface, a spring tensioned slide member bearing against said inner surface of the closed edge of the casing, a plurality of abutments on said slide member on the side opposite to the bearing surface and adapted to engage said single arm, said abutments being arranged in stepped relationship, the topmost abutment being spaced a greater distance and the middle and lower abutments of progressively lesser distance from the bearing surface of the slide member to hold said latch in successively latched positions, a pivoted arm bearing against the upper portion of the slide member and a spring biasing the slide member downwardly between the inner fixed surface and the Single arm, and a rotary actuating plate mounted on the same spindle as said pivoted latch and consisting of a plurality of spaced arms, one of said arms engaging the lower portion of the slide member when the said forked arms of the pivoted latch element are in latching position and the single arm is engaging the top abutment, with an opposite arm biased by the spring attached to the pivoted arm.

. 3. A door lock comprising a casing having an open edge, an opposite closed edge with an inner fixed surface and a rear wall with apertures, a spring tensioned pivoted latch element, said latch element consisting of forked arms disposed adjacent the opening of said open edge and a diametrically opposed single arm spaced from said inner fixed surface, a spring tensioned slide member bearing against said inner surface of the closed edge of the casing, a plurality of abutments on said slide member on the side opposite to the bearing surface and adapted to engage said single arm, said abutments being arranged in stepped relationship, the topmost abutment being spaced a greater distance and the middle and lower abutments of progressively lesser distance from the bearing surface of the slide member to hold said latch in successively latched positions, a pivoted arm bearing against the upper portion of the slide member and a spring biasing the slide member downwardly between the inner fixed surfac and the single arm, and a rotary actuating plate mounted adjacent to and on the same spindle as the pivoted latch and consisting of a plurality of spaced arms, a first of said arms engaging the lower portion of the slide member when the said forked arms of the pivoted latch element are in latching position and the single arm is engaging the top abutment, a second arm of the rotary actuating plate projecting through one or" said rear wall apertures, said latter arm being adapted to be operated by means from the exterior of a door on which the casing is mounted and being biased by the spring attached to the pivoted arm, and a third arm adapted to extend through the other of said apertures to be operated by means located on the interior of the door.

ROBERT ROBERTSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,372,000 Anderson Mar. 22, 1921 1,878,248 Moore Sept. 20, 1932 2,094,413 Schonitzer Sept. 28, 1937 2,314,613 Endter Mar. 23, 1943 

